If you compared the production of "Macbeth" that opened Thursday night at the Vivian Beaumont Theater to a pastry, it would be a doughnut, maybe one with a rich chocolate glaze and rainbow sprinkles. And in the middle, a big hole.

Director Jack O’Brien has created a tantalizing emotional and physical landscape for Shakespeare’s tragedy, presenting the story of the usurping Scottish king as a kind of nightmare, taking place in a great spatial void.

At the center of the production, though, is a very small portrayal of Macbeth, by Ethan Hawke.

The film star has an admirable dedication to theater, often appearing off-Broadway. But, although he’s done classical roles before, he’s best in modern, intimate parts.

His bearing, voice and dramatic presence just don’t approach the heroic scale needed for a character like Macbeth, who’s transformed by fevered ambition from a gallant general to a bloody tyrant. O’Brien has said he wanted to emphasize the play’s poetry in this production, the music of Shakespeare’s words.

Hawke’s readings, though, have a workmanlike blandness. You wait eagerly for such speeches as the "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow …" soliloquy — and the thrill never happens.

Without a persuasive Macbeth, you can’t really have a successful production.